2025 National Book Awards Finalists Announced

2025 National Book Award Finalists - Fiction

The excitement surrounding the literary world intensifies as the 25 Finalists for the 2025 National Book Awards have been revealed today. This prestigious event honors outstanding works in five categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature.

The five Finalists in each category were chosen by a distinguished panel of judges, who meticulously evaluated the Longlists that were previously announced in September. This rigorous selection process highlights the quality and diversity of contemporary literature. Publishers submitted a total of 1,835 books for this year’s National Book Awards: 434 in Fiction, 652 in Nonfiction, 285 in Poetry, 139 in Translated Literature, and 325 in Young People’s Literature.

The Finalists for Fiction are as follows:

Rabih Alameddine, The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother)

Megha Majumdar, A Guardian and a Thief

Karen Russell, The Antidote

Ethan Rutherford, North Sun: Or, the Voyage of the Whaleship Esther

Bryan Washington, Palaver

Rabih Alameddine’s The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) tells the tale of a Lebanese family across six decades - from the Lebanese Civil War to the COVID-19 pandemic - with humor and heartbreak. Set over the course of one week in a near-future Kolkata devastated by food insecurity and climate change, Megha Majumdar’s novel A Guardian and a Thief asks how far we might be willing to go to protect those we love. Karen Russell’s The Antidote is set in a fictional Dust Bowl-era Nebraska town on the brink of collapse - bracing against the forces of the Great Depression and the community’s violent histories with Indigenous people and the land. Ethan Rutherford’s seafaring saga, North Sun: Or, the Voyage of the Whaleship Esther, follows a ragtag crew embarking on a rescue mission and whaling journey that urges the cast of characters to scrutinize their own choices. In Palaver, Bryan Washington’s unnamed narrator is unceremoniously reunited with his estranged mother in Tokyo, and together, they revisit memories that span decades and borders, compelling them to understand and, ultimately, forgive one another.

The National Book Awards serve to recognize exceptional literary talent, with categories that encompass a wide range of voices and experiences. The inclusion of Translated Literature emphasizes the importance of global narratives, while Young People’s Literature showcases the creativity and relevance of storytelling for younger audiences. The Winners of the National Book Award for Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature will be announced live on Wednesday, November 19 at the invitation-only 76^th National Book Awards Ceremony & Benefit Dinner at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.

Source: nationalbook.org